John has more than 35 years experience in the surety profession. The first 12 years were spent in underwriting, production and management capacities with Fidelity & Deposit Company Co. of Maryland, a major surety writer. In 1992 he teamed his company, Surety Services of Florida, Inc. with Matson Insurance and Bonding to form Matson-Charlton Surety Group.


John grew up as a second generation surety specialist as his father worked for F&D for over 51 years.


While at Central Methodist College, John earned a degree in Business Administration. Like his partner, Duff Matson, he is proud to have earned the rank of Eagle Scout.



He is active in the National Association of Surety Bond Producers (NASBP) and Vistage Florida, an organization for executive business leaders. John also participated in the Commercial Surety Panel at the 2010 NASBP National Meeting in San Antonio. He has served on the Board of the South Florida Chapter of Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA) and on the Agent’s Advisory Panel as a major surety company. He has a wealth of experience with complicated surety bond situations for clients with multiple sureties on their accounts and has testified as an expert witness on surety-related issues.